Was Mike Brown really the problem? The Sacramento Kings are rolling with seven straight wins, shooting them up to the ninth seed, closely trailing the eighth seeded Timberwolves. Furthermore, the Kings also did it with limited availability from star point guard De’Aaron Fox. The bottom of the West continues to be tightly contested, with the 5th seeded Mavericks sitting only three games ahead of the 12th seeded Spurs. Every game here carries weight, and it’s going to be yet another tight squeeze for that play-in spot as the season continues.
In the East, we’ll see a bit less parity. The 76ers, after seemingly regaining Joel Embiid, have started to stutter as Embiid battles additional injuries to his lower body. The Pacers have won six straight as the Cavaliers pace the East atop the mountain. The Hawks also seem due for another play-in appearance, especially if they cannot get rising star Jalen Johnson back soon.
We’re shooting the Three Lists of Threes today for your weekly dose of fantasy tips: Buy-lows, sell-highs, and streams.
Here are some streams we can consider.
Stream ’em
Peyton Watson, SF/PF, Denver Nuggets
Even in the wake of Aaron Gordon’s return from a nine game absence, Peyton Watson received a healthy 33 minutes. Now, this could be due to the Nuggets opting to slowly ease Gordon back into the mix – calf injuries are never easy – but I like to get ahead of things. When healthy, Watson is capable of posting very serviceable defensive numbers, especially blocks. He doesn’t take enough shots to hurt your FG% and has a diverse skill set and is able to contribute in different categories such as points, rebounds, and the rare three. He’s only 22 and his game is well-suited around Denver’s anchor Nikola Jokic. Watson’s also averaging a career-high 24.7 minutes per game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him starting soon. But grab him now just in case.
Javonte Green, SF/PF, New Orleans Pelicans
This is maybe the fourth time I’ve said this, but: what a brutal blow for the Pelicans this season. Herb Jones has been sidelined indefinitely with a torn labrum in his shoulder. Add that to the long list of Pelicans injuries, and you’ll arrive to the conclusion that the basketball gods have somehow been offended by the Pelicans.
In Jones’ absence, we didn’t really see many Brandon Boston Jr. minutes, nor did we see more Jose Alvarado minutes. In fact, Jones’ minutes seem to have been dispersed equally amongst Boston Jr., Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, and Daniel Theis. Javonte Green played 20 minutes last night which was the highest of the bunch. He managed to grab two steals alongside 10 points off the bench.
Lonzo Ball, PG, Chicago Bulls
Ball made his first start of the season last night due to Coby White’s absence, and he impressed with five triples and a block. Prior to yesterday, Ball had already been on a roll in his last 13 games while averaging 6.4 points and 1.8 steals in 20.9 minutes per game. It’s unclear whether he’ll ever hit higher minutes due to his injury history, but he’s been effective in limited minutes this season. He’s putting up per-36 averages of 10.8 PPG, 6 RPG, 6.8 APG, and 2.9 SPG.
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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